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Questions and Answers About Islam in Modern Georgia

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Day 14 for 26th September, coinciding with Ramadan 2007 / 1428

Q. The Republic of Georgia was one of the first countries to become Christian. How did it get to be 10% Muslim?

A. Georgia has been conquered by Muslim empires several times. Tbilisi (the capital) was conquered by Arabs in the 8th century and a Muslim community remained. From the 16th century, Ottoman Turks and Iranian Safavids (Persians) controlled much of Georgia. Migrants, later known as Tatars, also decided to make the region their home.

Q. Didn’t the Soviet era abolish Islam?

A. No, For example, Islamic law (Shari’a) and administration were abolished in 1926 but by 1930 a compromise was reached allowing Muslims certain freedoms. During the Second World War the Soviets set up Muslim Religious Boards to manage Muslims throughout the region. Some Muslims were deported (depending on ethnicity) and the deportation actually continued into late in the 20th century. It is still a political issue.

Q. How can we pray for the Republic of Georgia?

A. There are several things we Christians need to pray for today. These can include:

* Prayer for the Azeri: Ask the Lord to send native Azeri speaking Christian workers to them. The Bible and the Jesus film are available in the Azeri language but the Good News needs to be shared in culturally effective ways with an emphasis on discipleship.

*Prayer for the Kists and the Muslims of the Ajaria area : Pray for God to give wisdom, favour, and opportunities to Christians that are reaching out to them (1 Corithians 16:9).

* Prayer for Christians: Relations between the Georgian Orthodox Church and Protestant congregations have not always been positive. Love, mutual respect and greater comprehension are needed. May Christians be strengthened in their faith, work and witness (John 17:17-21).

+ Google Map Link: Republic of Georgia

+ YouTube Video Link: 2:08, Tbilisi

Hear the Gospel Message in Azeri | Chechen | Georgean

Tags: ramadan

Foreign workers in Taiwan

Day 13 for 25th September, coinciding with Ramadan 2007 / 1428

Taiwan Population: 22,858,872 (July 2007 est.)
Foreign workers: 336,985
Indonesian: 79,650 (23.6%)
Filipino: 91,995 (27.3%)
Thai: 93,673 (27.8%)
Vietnamese: 71,618 (21.2%)

In 1949, some 20,000 Muslims, mostly soldiers and civil servants, fled mainland China with the Kuomintang (non-communist government) to Taiwan. Two mosques were built in the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung to meet the needs of the Muslim community. In 1989, the Taiwanese government recruited foreign workers to solve the labour shortage problems. Since then the use of foreign workers has become a major source of cheap labour in Taiwan.

No statistics are available concerning the number of Muslim foreign workers in Taiwan, but it is probable that a high percentage of Indonesians are Muslims. They have not only contributed to the Taiwanese economy but they have also shared their food, customs, traditions and beliefs with the Taiwanese. Three of the newer mosques were built with Middle-East money for the growing number of Muslims in Taiwan.

Prayer request:

* May the Lord cause more Taiwanese Christians to seek the salvation of the foreign workers around them in order to reach out to individuals and even whole families from Muslim backgrounds.

* May the Lord raise up more local Christian workers who are willing to learn the languages and cultures of the foreign workers in order to establish relationships in the hope of bringing them to Christ.

* May God open the hearts of large numbers of foreign workers to Gospel.

* Christian literature, brochures, tracts, audio and video material in various languages are needed.

+ Google Map Link: Taiwan

+ YouTube Video Link: 10:37, This is my Taiwan

Note: Foreign workers are only allowed to stay for a period of six years.

(PRAYER POINTS FOR KUWAIT)

Tags: ramadan

The Hiding Place of Afghanistan

Day 12 for 24th September, coinciding with Ramadan 2007 / 1428

In 1865, two new, Pashtun believers risked their lives to go to the most inaccessible of Afghan provinces. Their message was in Nuristan greeted with enthusiasm and the Nuristanis extended an invitation to teachers of the Good News to return and share more. Tragically, no one managed to come. 30 years later the Amir of Kabul invaded Nuristan, converting the people to Islam at the point of a sword.

For more than 20 years, a desire to reach out to Nuristan has been growing. There is a vision to see whole feuding communities transformed by the power of God’s message of grace, love and forgiveness. Practical development projects are in great need. Problems of accessibility have frequently impeded attempts of outsiders to visit the area but there is a sense that God’s time is coming for the Nuristanis. The challenge is great, but our God is much greater.

Please pray for:

* Access for workers; the gospel of forgiveness to come and radically impact feuding communities

* Contacts with people of peace and honor who can open doors for the Good News (Mt. 10:11)

* More workers, especially medical personnel, willing to serve in a tough place

* Dreams and visions of Jesus to prepare the Nuristanis for his message

* Understanding, wisdom and protection for workers as they plan to take hope to the mountains

* Names of the major tribes among the Nuristani : Vasi, Kata, SaNu, Ashku, GramsaNa, Tregami, Kalasha, Dungullo, Kom, Kshto-Dungulio, Mumo (One could site each tribe in prayer before the Lord).

+ Google Map Link: Nuristan, Afghanistan

+ YouTube Video Link: 1:26 BBC footage about Afghanistan

— Interesting Facts —
* Population : Estimates are from 100,000 to 300,000
* Nuristan (formerly Kafirstan) was the the setting of the book and film “The Man Who Would Be King.”
* Eastern Nuristan, a hiding place for the Taliban and al-Qaeda, is subject to frequent attacks

Gospel Recording: 5 Audio Gospel recordings available for Nuristan, Afghanistan:
Ashkuni | Kamviri | Kantwai | Paruni | Waygali

Tags: ramadan

Strategic Silk Road in China

Day 11 for 23rd September, coinciding with Ramadan 2007 / 1428

A key staging post on the ancient Silk Road, the city of Kashgar sits on the westernmost end of the Taklamakan Desert and is arguably the cultural and religious centre of Uyghur culture.

Kashgar is known for being a hotbed for conservative Islam and Uyghur nationalist and separatist sentiment. There is considerable tension between the Chinese rulers and the Uyghur population.

With a population of around 1 million (70% Uyghurs, 30% Chinese and growing), the Kashgar district is a microcosm for the rest of Xinjiang with conservative Muslim and ‘modern’ atheist values clashing head-on.

Kashgar is a strategic city. It boasts one of the largest weekly bazaars in Central Asia with tens of thousands of people – almost entirely Muslims – coming to trade from the surrounding countryside, and neighbouring Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan & Tadjikistan.

Prayer Points

* May God break down the demonic principalities and powers. Fear and death reign unchecked; Please ask God to breakdown these ancient strongholds and release the Uyghur people into the freedom only Christ can bring.

* Lift up the city of Kashgar before the Lord.

* Pray for the completion of the Uyghur Scriptures, and their accessibility; The New Testament translation has recently been completed, but much of the Old Testament is yet to be translated and published. The Uyghur Bible is illegal in Xinjiang.

* More intercessors are needed; The spiritual barriers to this people hearing and responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ are immense. Please pray that God would raise an army of intercessors to stand in the gap for the Uyghur people of Xinjiang.

+ Google Map Link: Xinjiang, China

+ YouTube Video Link: 2:09, Christianity In China (CBS News)

+ Gospel Recordings Link: Audio recordings available in Uyghur
— Interesting Facts —
* We featured material about the Uyghurs two years ago in “30 Days”.
* Uyghur is a Turkic language with an Arabic script (Uyghurs in the Central Asian countries use a Cyrillic script).

Tags: ramadan

Northern Afghanistan - Focus: Balkh and Mazari Sharif cities

Day 10 for 22th September, coinciding with Ramadan 2007 / 1428

Between May and July 1997 the Taliban unsuccessfully attempted to take Mazari, leading to approximately 2,500 Taliban soldiers being massacred. But in August 1998 the Taliban returned prompting a six-day killing frenzy of Hazaras and other local people. Even now eye-witnesses are moved with emotion telling how the dead and dying lay for weeks in the streets. Today Mazari Sharif, as the forth-largest city in Afghanistan, is getting new streets, supermarkets and internet cafes. However there are only small numbers of Christians.

Only 20 minutes away by car, to the west of Mazari, lies the famous town of Balkh previously known as Bactria. This city was part of the Persian empire. Later the city became a centre for Buddhism and finally, when the Arabs took control in the 8th century. From its former glory Balkh retains only its citadel and a few other ruins. The new city, called Wazirabad, has a population of 70,000 people consisting mostly of ethnic Uzbeks. In Balkh today there is no known Christian witness.

Prayer Points:

* Pray that the pilgrims to the Blue Mosque in Mazari who are seeking for freedom, healing and wisdom would meet Jesus personally.

* Pray for the people of Mazari Sharif, especially the Hazara, who continue to live with the consequences of trauma of the late 1990’s. May they can find life in Christ who alone can bring inner peace and the ability to forgive.

* Pray for the few believers in the area to build healthy and life giving relationships to open doors for influence and witness. Pray especially that the city of Balkh (today Wazirabad) could have a Christian witness.

+ Google Map Link: Afghanistan

+ YouTube Video Link: 9:42, Vacationing in Afghanistan

+ Gospel Recordings Link: Words of Life in Afghan

(PRAYER POINTS FOR KUWAIT)

Tags: ramadan